The present invention relates to air bag restraint systems for motor vehicles and in particular to the means for mounting an air bag module behind the fascia of a vehicle, but may also be applied to systems in which an air bag module is mounted in another location within the vehicle.
It is proposed to mount an air bag module of a restraint system for a motor vehicle behind a blow out panel on the fascia of the vehicle in front of the front passenger seat, so that in a collision, the air bag will be deployed in front of the passenger to prevent the passenger coming into contact with the fascia or windscreen. The air bag module comprises an inflator which includes a pyrotechnic device and a trigger device which in a collision will initiate a fast burn process to rapidly produce large volumes of gases which will inflate the air bag. For safety reasons, the trigger device of the inflator has a spring loaded plunger which must first be depressed to arm the inflator, before the inflator can be triggered.
The present invention provides means for mounting the air bag module which will prevent installation of the air bag module without it being armed and removal of the air bag module from the vehicle until the air bag module has been disarmed.